1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to methods and systems for transferring proppant materials between pressurized containers. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods and systems for transferring proppant materials between pressurized containers as a dense phase. More specifically still, embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods and systems for transferring proppant materials between pressurized containers disposed on supply vessels, stimulation vessels, and offshore production platforms.
2. Background Art
Traditionally, methods of transferring dry material, including proppant materials from land-based facilities to boats and then to offshore production platforms, includes lifting box or bags or bags of dry material from a first location to a second location with a crane. Depending on the volume of proppant required for a specific operation the number of crane lifts and boat trips may be substantial. For example, in a typical operation several hundred crane lifts may be required to transfer sufficient proppant from a land-based facility to a boat, for transference to an off shore platform.
In addition to requiring numerous crane lifts, procurement and then transportation of proppant to and from an offshore production platform may also be time consuming. For example, typically, a stimulation vessel that is configured to mix proppant with chemicals at a drilling location picks up proppant from a land-based facility and travels several hundred miles out to an offshore production platform. After mixing the dry proppant with chemicals on board the stimulation vessel, the constituted fluid is transferred from the stimulation vessel to the production platform. The fluid is then pumped into the wellbore using high pressure pumps on the production platform or pumped directly from a high pressure pump on the stimulation vessel. Often, the amount of proppant required is more than a single boat trip can supply, so after mixing and injecting the proppant, the stimulation vessel must travel back to the land-based facility, pick up more proppant, and then travel back to the offshore production platform. The picking up of additional proppant requires additional crane lifts, and depending on the quantity of proppant required, this process could be repeated a number of times for each well.
In addition to the time consuming nature of existing transportation mechanisms of proppant, proppant is inherently dangerous, and the transportation of proppant may increase the risks associated with the dry proppant. In an attempt to decrease the time consuming method of using multiple boat trips and crane lifts, certain operators have begun transferring dry proppant through suction. In such an application, an operator may use a vacuum to move dry proppant from a first location to a second location, thereby decreasing the need for crane lifts. However, such methods result in a high attrition rate, damage the resin coating on the proppant materials, and create more dust particles. Increased resin dust particles from the proppant may, over a certain concentration, result in an explosion, if ignited. Thus, the vacuum methods of transferring proppant may further increase the dangers of transferring proppant.
To prevent resin dust from the dry proppant from exploding, certain operators “wet” the proppant, thereby decreasing the amount of dust created during transference. While wetting the proppant causes the particles to stick together, thereby decreasing the amount of dust produced, the wetting also decreases the effectiveness of the proppant when constituted into a fluid prior to injection into the wellbore. Thus, operators are typically faced with choosing between a slow dangerous process of transferring proppant using multiple crane lifts, or decreasing the effectiveness of the end product.
Accordingly, there exists a need for systems and methods for transferring proppant between land-based facilities, vessels, and offshore production platforms.